What supplement would you really like to see Wizards produce?

[woodelf]

If we must focus on the players, how about a book on role-playing. On how to build a character that works as part of group instead of yet another brooding loner. We can involve the DM here too. How work with your DM to develop background and story for the characters. How to bring more of a story to the adventures.

Well, for starters:
Over the Edge Players' Survival Guide
It's the best resource i've found yet for how to make a good character, part of the group, and all that. Also, Uncle Figgy's Guides, a series of web articles, are really excellent, and should be in the folder of any GM looking to introduce people to RPGs, or improve existing RPers.

Oh, and the OtE book is plenty applicable for any RPG, including D&D, not just OtE. I've been giving it to new players for probably a decade now, no matter what system we're playing.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Mega-Modules designed to level characters up four levels at a time.

That would be boss.

 

[woodelf]

Yeah, we could really use a Guide to DMing, rather than a DM Guide. No or very little rules, lots of *advice* on how to play the game, how to hold player's interest, what type of behavior to encourage depending on what sort of game you want to play. Etcetera...

Go buy a copy of Amber Diceless Roleplaying--that's what i did. I've never read any of the Amber books, don't care for what Zelazny i have read, and don't like the mechanics of Amber DRP. I knew all of this before i bought the game. I bought it because of Wujcik's seminar's at GenCon--best GMing advice i've ever heard. And Amber DRP is more of the same, and then some. Most of the book is GMing advice--either explicitly, or de facto (given the almost-rulesless nature of the rules). Anyway, over 100pp (IIRC) of excellent GMing advice.

While you're at it, pick up Gamemastering Secrets, 2nd Ed. It's pretty much just what it says, and has articles of use to everyone from complete beginners to quite experienced GMs--i've been running games in dozens of systems for more than 2 decades and frequently get accolades, and have been an active participant on UseNet and various mailing lists precisely about GMing stuff for a dozen years, and it taught me a thing or four.

 

[woodelf]

Yeah, we could really use a Guide to DMing, rather than a DM Guide. No or very little rules, lots of *advice* on how to play the game, how to hold player's interest, what type of behavior to encourage depending on what sort of game you want to play. Etcetera...

Go buy a copy of Amber Diceless Roleplaying--that's what i did. I've never read any of the Amber books, don't care for what Zelazny i have read, and don't like the mechanics of Amber DRP. I knew all of this before i bought the game. I bought it because of Wujcik's seminar's at GenCon--best GMing advice i've ever heard. And Amber DRP is more of the same, and then some. Most of the book is GMing advice--either explicitly, or de facto (given the almost-rulesless nature of the rules). Anyway, over 100pp (IIRC) of excellent GMing advice.

While you're at it, pick up Gamemastering Secrets, 2nd Ed. It's pretty much just what it says, and has articles of use to everyone from complete beginners to quite experienced GMs--i've been running games in dozens of systems for more than 2 decades and frequently get accolades, and have been an active participant on UseNet and various mailing lists precisely about GMing stuff for a dozen years, and it taught me a thing or four.

oh, and there's Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering. Short, but to-the-point and with some insightful observations and very practical, useable advice. Of most use to inexperienced or semi-experienced GMs, but, again, an experienced GM is likely to learn a thing or two.

Now, if you've read all of these, and want something beyond what they offer--and there certainly is room to expand on these--i think you'll need to petition someone to do it. But if you haven't, don't complain that a book of GMing advice doesn't exist--go buy these and read them.

 

[woodelf]

I know I've always wanted to see (for purely selfish reasons) The Monster Hunters Association Compilation Book, with all of the Monster Hunter "Ecology" articles updated to 3.5 rules (including the three unpublished ones I wrote and submitted that were mass-rejected when they changed the format for "Ecology" articles). It would also include the unwritten (but plotted out) "Ecology of the Umpleby," another goofy D&D monster that fits the MHA mold so well, plus as many others as would fit to make a decent-sized book.

What'd they change about the Ecology articles that precluded yours? How long ago was that (i stopped reading Dragon when they dropped Roleplaying Reviews)?

 

[woodelf]

Good question. As for my 2¢:

• Other culturally-themed campaign books (like w/ Oriental Adventures); possibly a Middle Eastern/African themed setting, a Native American/Mesoamerican one, an Aboriginal/Pacific Islander one, a pre-Dark Age/Medieval setting for fantasy (spans from the birth of history to just after the fall of Rome), etc.
• A non-D&D book request: For the d20 Modern line, at least as a 1-book wonder campaign setting: G.I. Joe d20. Heck, the toy line's back up, there's a new comic series, a movie in the (vestigal) works, & it could even tie in with the new toy line (somehow).

Well, Nyambe: African Adventures has been garnering rave reviews since it came out.
As for G.I.Joe: the RPG, there's a really excellent Fudge adaptation out there--i've seen it run at conventions, and i think it's available online. Not legally licensed, of course, but very well done, and really captures the feel (at least, as well as i remember it--it's been a while). Also, a believe that Cartoon Action Hour has a GI Joe-esque setting for it.

 

[woodelf]

The Book of Justice
Police forces, militia, vigilantes, and rules about political and legal systems in any kind of fantasy environment.

Didn't you just describe Crime & Punishment, almost exactly? I'm not sure, because i haven't had the money to pick it up yet. But if it's even half as good as Dynasties & Demagogues, it rocks, and totally covers what you want. I think it's content overlaps your criminal-centric book idea, too, though not by much.

 

[woodelf]

I would kill for such a book. I wish someone would do it, WOTC or not! And yes, note the qualifier if you're reading There were some 'riddles' in the Dragon a year or two ago (?? Or maybe in a Dungeon adventure?) , but they were all totally useless since they were actually word problems and puzzles rather than actual riddles. Solutions revolved around how things were spelled, or taking the first letter of certain words.. things like that. Puzzles might be appropriate for some things, but I need things that would be on old tombs, things Sphinxes would say, etc.

There's a series of books titled something unexpected like "Riddle Rooms," put out by, i think, Cloud Castle Games. They're really excellent, and have riddles, puzzles, and other related things in them, mostly presented as encounters that could be worked into any scenario. They're definitely worth picking up if you like these sorts of things in your games, and aren't great at coming up withthem yourself.

 

[Macbeth]

I'd like to see a big book of really out there ideas, written up in about 20-50 pages each. Think along the lines of some of the wierder Polyhedron minigames, all fleshed out, with new classes, rules etc. as needed. Would I use it all? Probably not, but I would have a great time reading it, and it would be great for oneshots. Think of it, maybe a dozen or more minigames, given a slightly/much longer then Poly rightup, with art and everything.

 

[Richards]

"Ecology" articles used to be written in what I called the "fiction and footnote" format -- a story about an encounter with the creature in question, with footnotes giving the game-related details. (To use two terms than seem to annoy a lot of people - and please forgive me in advance for using them - the story was the "fluff" and the footnotes were the "crunch.") When Dave Gross left Dragon and Jesse Decker took over as editor, the "Ecology" format was changed from "fiction and footnotes" to just the "footnotes," as it were. In other words, "Ecology" articles as they stand today are just a list of "game facts" about the givien creature, often including things like new feats the creature might use. In many ways, an "Ecology" article today is very much like an expanded "Vs." article that Dragon started putting out shortly after the change to 3E ("Vs. Zombies," "Vs. Vampires," etc).

There's nothing inherently wrong with that, naturally - and there have been some rather nice "Ecology" articles in this new format - but I really prefer the old "fiction and footnote" days. (The "selfish" part in my earlier post deals mostly with the fact that the Monster Hunters Association has no place in today's "Ecology" articles: they're pure "fluff.")

Still, who knows? Editors (and opinions) change with time. I'll just wait and see what happens, and hope for the best. (And in the meantime, dream about that compilation book in Dream's library...)

Johnathan